| zebelkhan |
Maybe it is just me. but...................
I normally get 23 mpg on my way to work with premium gas doing about 70 mph average. My commute to work is 43 miles one way on mostly flat roads except for a two mile uphill piece which is then made up for by its two mile downhill return.
Ever since my last visit to the dealer couple of weeks ago my gas mileage had substantially dropped, down to 21 mpg. I think one of the things they said they had done was to adjust the idle speed???? I always thought the idle speed was computer controlled but I could be wrong.
This morning I reset the display on the flat portion of the road to measure the mpg without interference from any city driving I had recently done. At first the display showed 24.7 mpg but in a matter of 10 minutes it dropped to 23, 22, and then it seemed to stablize around 21.7. I was :3: and :confused:
Then I rememberd something I had read on this board. Something about momentarily flooring the gas pedal which supposedly resets the computer...or something along those lines. I don't remember excatly.
So I did it. I floored the gas pedal, the MO took off, and then I let it coast back to the speed I was driving at (67 mph). By this time I was about 20 miles away from work.
To my surprise over the next few minutes I saw the display change to 22.3, then 24, then 25.3 !!!! The best part was when I got to work some 15 minutes later it was still 25.3.....:claphead: |
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| Gonzo |
| I've never heard that.... weird. |
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| pacmo |
I'm a little confused. Did flooring the MO for a sec actually cause if to run more efficently and get better milage. Or did it just trigger some sort of computer reset so that you were getting better MPG calculations out of the computer???
Pacmo |
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| Kris |
zeb,
if only that so easy......;) |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by pacmo
I'm a little confused. Did flooring the MO for a sec actually cause if to run more efficently and get better milage. Or did it just trigger some sort of computer reset so that you were getting better MPG calculations out of the computer???
Pacmo
I know it sounds crazy, and maybe it is just in my head. I really don't know. But I do recall something mentioned on this board somewhere. Maybe it was a joke. I can't say. But whatever it was I tried it and it seemed like it worked for the short test duration until I got to work.
This morning's results could have just been a coincidence. Maybe engine and tranny warming up had to do with it. All I know is that the dramatic result occured only after I floored it. But what if flooring it somehow reset the throttle positioner or something else????? Or maybe it just undid whatever "idle adjustment" dealer had done...
On the way back home today I will see if the better gas mileage still holds up. I have relatively the same road conditions to travel on, but I will see heavier traffic and warmer weather. |
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| njjoe |
I had the same problem but corrected it in a different way - I used the auto-down feature to lower the front windows, turned on the rear defroster, and then selected an AM station. (Of course I rolled the windows back up. I'm no dummy.) Lo and behold my mileage increased! :2:
zebelkhan-
Boy, will I look like an idiot if what you are saying turns out to be true.
-njjoe |
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| GripperDon |
The method That MR. Z describes lets the CVT settle into to a different final ( and more economic) drive ratio that achieved before doing his method. So yes the Mo actually gets better fuel economy and does run more efficiently.
Grip |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by GripperDon
The method That MR. Z describes lets the CVT settle into to a different final ( and more economic) drive ratio that achieved before doing his method. So yes the Mo actually gets better fuel economy and does run more efficiently.
Grip
Thanks for backing me up on this Don! And yes, it is official. On the drive back from work, temp 61F, average speed 70 mph, except for about 5 miles when I could not do faster than 30, with two complete stops, going over the same grade except on the oposit direction. I did not even warm up the engine as I wanted it to be excatly how I usually drive.
Here are the results:
Started from work with display now showing 22.7. That must have been as the result of the short "city" driving I had from freeway to work. I entered freeway and increased speed to 70 and and set the cruise. By the time I got home the display showed 24.7 mpg.....:18: |
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| njjoe |
zebelkhan-
O.K. I'll admit it. Your method works (as crazy as it sounds). Mine doesn't.
:6:
-njjoe |
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| jsturg |
| I just noticed something similar the other day. I noticed that in many cases, if I deliberately coast on flats or downgrades, the RPM's go up a bit. I'm sure it's a CVT thing. If I then give it a little throttle, the RPM's drop down. I didn't do a MPG comparison over distance but I'm sure it will make a difference. I'm sure speed control works against the MPG in the same manner. If you're going to use speed control, assist it with a little throttle when it automatically backs off. It doesn't take much. |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
zebelkhan-
O.K. I'll admit it. Your method works (as crazy as it sounds). Mine doesn't.
:6:
-njjoe
Well, it is just possible that something was wrong with my set-up which has somehow been corrected. As I mentioned in my first post, ever since the dealer "set the idle" (whatever that means) in my MO I started getting terrible gas mileage. Maybe it was a coincidence, or as as GripperDon said something adjusted itself in the CVT. So if your car is already running at its best, there is nothing to improve.
All I know is that I am on my second day of this, with 130 miles under my belt, and when I stopped at work this morning, display showed exactly 25.0 mpg - BTW this leg included about 4 miles of slow city driving, rest was on the freeway @ 65 mph. |
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| Gonzo |
quote:
Originally posted by GripperDon
The method That MR. Z describes lets the CVT settle into to a different final ( and more economic) drive ratio that achieved before doing his method. So yes the Mo actually gets better fuel economy and does run more efficiently.
Grip
Doesn't the CVT always operate in a mode for efficiency? Isn't that the point of a CVT? |
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| Eric L. |
This is one the craziest ideas I've ever read, but I don't doubt zeb's word for a minute. Whatever the reason, it appears it works for him, and thats all that matters.
I've heard the idea of flooring it after adding a bottle of fuel injector cleaner like Chevron Techron Concentrate or BG44K, though, to "blow out the carbon" (as the Texas Car Doctor likes to say). |
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| GripperDon |
And reasonable. The CVT has a "Dead Band" just like a thermostat. The zone that it does not regulate in. On a thermostat say it's 2 degrees F. For the CVT it depends on which direction the variable width pulleys are coming from open or closed. So the CVT reaches the deadband from alternate directions. Leaving the effective drive ratio of the transmission in a different place. Take a look at the Tach and see if you can detect the differing RPM's for the same speedo reading. I don't have my MO no MO so I can't do it myself. This is what it is doing.
Grip |
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| Mr3Putt |
Raise your hand if you're gonna punch it on the way home tonight....:18:
Can't hurt, can it? |
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| pacmo |
quote:
Originally posted by Mr3Putt
Raise your hand if you're gonna punch it on the way home tonight....:18:
Can't hurt, can it?
I'm in :awais:
I just hit 1250 miles on my MO on the way in to work today. So I am now free to take the RPMs over 4000!
pacmo |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by Mr3Putt
Raise your hand if you're gonna punch it on the way home tonight....:18:
If this workd for you guys then I want royalty...................:2: |
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| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by zebelkhan
If this workd for you guys then I want royalty...................:2:
No problem, just post your bank account number......:22: |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by Kris
No problem, just post your bank account number......:22:
Have paypal.............:2: |
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| bob1 |
. I don't have my MO no MO so I can't do it myself. This is what it is doing.
Grip, you have an open invite to drive my MO if I ever run into you.
It can't hold a candle to the Mod-MO or is it the No-MO-Mod-MO.
Do you think any harm can come to the CVT or stress on those belts? I'd hate to do something that could hurt the pup.
One more question for the board and especially Zeb. Do you have to do this each time you're on a trip or just mash it one time for the Magic Zeb gas method? :)
Bob1 |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by bob1
One more question for the board and especially Zeb. Do you have to do this each time you're on a trip or just mash it one time for the Magic Zeb gas method? :)
Bob1
I am not saying you should do anything! I mean this could all be just a coincidence but I have done it only once. And I don't think trying it is going to do any harm. This is no more than if you were flooring it to accelerate, except you let go once the pedal reaches the floor!
And I like Magic Zeb gas method!!!!!! |
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| Kris |
Zeb,
I have done it several time last weekend (see my post in ScanTool thread) and the display dropped to 17mpg :(
After drivig to the office and back yesterday it slowly started cripping back up..........now is at 18mpg. I believe that by the end of the week it will stabilize at around 20mpg.
Magic? I doubt it. There are simple too many variables - gas quality, temperature, wind, traffic........anyway, enjoy your "discovery"..;)
PS. OK, paypal wil do:D |
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| zebelkhan |
What I did was a slap on the accelerator pedal to do an "experiment". So far so good though - I am happy with the results:
80 mph on the way back home today (where I could of course) -24.6 MPG..... |
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| GripperDon |
| Besides the different setting ratio of the final drive the spark timing could also be at a different settle point. A negative may be that the rich ratio coats the insides walls of the intake manifold and that burn off for a period giving back some "Extra Mileage' But that should be negligible. |
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| Murano_driver |
Zeb,
This is one weird thing…. I am glad it works for you….do you know that you kinda started a new mith……we gonna start seeing Mo with the driver who will be flooring them from time to time all across the US…..and I guess I will be one of them…..I just hope my CVT will survive the experiment……
:2: |
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| zebelkhan |
| I have to say it is still holding. It has dropped down to 22.5 but only because I drove over 40 miles within city last night. It would have otherwise been (I am guessing here) 20.5 to 21. |
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| njjoe |
zebelkhan-
Thanx for sharing your new "Z-technique" for increasing gas mileage. It definitely increases the fun-factor!
-njjoe |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
zebelkhan-
Thanx for sharing your new "Z-technique" for increasing gas mileage. It definitely increases the fun-factor!
-njjoe
I aim to please.....:18: |
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| Murano_driver |
| This is weird. I can’t believe it works. I tried today after resetting the MPG counter. I have like 15.4 and after I did it jumps up and after 20 min it was on 18.5. Well this was city driving. Now I am really interesting if it just resets the counter somehow or I am really getting that MPG? |
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| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by Murano_driver
This is weird. I can’t believe it works. I tried today after resetting the MPG counter. I have like 15.4 and after I did it jumps up and after 20 min it was on 18.5. Well this was city driving. Now I am really interesting if it just resets the counter somehow or I am really getting that MPG?
Be assured it is the counter.......:( |
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| Murano_driver |
| Darn, I was hoping… |
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| zebelkhan |
| I am still getting excellent gas mileage, about 1 to 2 mpg over what I used to average.....:4: |
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| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by zebelkhan
I am still getting excellent gas mileage, about 1 to 2 mpg over what I used to average.....:4:
Placebo effect! :2: |
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| Eric L. |
| I must admit I tried this several times over the past week. Initially I thought wow my mileage increased, but that was just because I had reset the mpg meter and the engine was already warmed up in closed loop mode (so naturally the mileage would be higher than normal). So far, haven't noticed any difference in fuel economy but it is fun to floor it and feel the acceleration. |
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| zebelkhan |
quote:
Originally posted by Kris
Placebo effect! :2:
But I am taking the real medication......:D |
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| Eric L. |
quote:
Originally posted by zebelkhan
But I am taking the real medication......:D
If its the drug of choice for the condition known as "the need for speed" then who are we to stop you? :D :D :D |
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